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Everyday Jewelry

I love jewelry – and every day I feel a little “off” unless I have some on. That being said, I haven’t worn a lot of my favorite pieces since baby came along. My Alhambra necklace, for example, is taking an extended vacation ever since realized there had been dried peas on the delicate mother of pearl for goodness knows how long (luckily they scraped off). The tassels on my Mars necklaces are a source of constant fascination for baby Feather – but sometimes too tempting as a good “yank!” target. And forget about any rings with raised designs, as they can so easily scratch a baby’s skin.

To that end, I thought I’d share some of my every day jewelry pieces – the more simple pieces that you can usually find me in if I’m just at home, that I can leave on when doing the dishes or just generally running around!

Jen Meyer Good Luck

Jennifer Meyer “Good Luck” necklace: This was my mom’s Christmas gift to me, and I love it! I’d been wanting a longer gold pendant necklace for some time, and this one, at 20 inches, is the perfect length. It sits well with my v-neck shirts and blouses, but is also long enough to hang nicely over crewnecks. It’s actually sitting a bit higher than normal in this picture – it hangs about an inch lower after it gets “settled”. I really like the delicate ball chain, and the charm itself is made up of all sorts of different symbols for good luck. It seems quite sturdy too – baby has given it a few strong tugs, and so far so good!

It’s also available in rose gold (so gorgeous), at Barneys.

Vinader

Monica Vinader “Baja” bracelet: I love Monica Vinader’s friendship bracelets, and have a few of her classic “Fiji” style (my first ever was a gift from a dear friend). The textile component tends to be less water friendly though, which is why the Baja model is great, as its all metal and stone. This model with green agate always adds a bit of color, and plus it pairs well with my jade bangle (coming up below).

PS – I also love the Baja in rose gold, this is what’s next on my list, to go with my other rose gold pieces. I’m still debating between white or gray for the stone.

Carved Jade Bangle

Vintage carved jade bracelet: I love jade, and would love a nice pricier classic bangle, but work too much with my hands and know that I’d worry about cracking it. I really like this carved bracelet, as it’s still grade A jadeite (which means undyed and untreated jade, unlike a lot of what’s currently on the market), but wasn’t so expensive that I’d be devastated if something happened to it. And, I think the carving is quite unique! I found mine on Etsy, and its about 30-40 years old.

Jewelry Everyday

Swatch “Die Glocke” watch – I love Swatch watches and over the years have picked up a few which I couldn’t resist. I added this one a few months ago – the leather strap is more comfortable and flexible than the rubber ones (which also have cracked on me over time), and the little bell keeps baby entertained in an emergency.

Of course I still wear my “nicer” watches – but they tend to be a bit heavier, which is always a problem as baby Feather often likes to lie with his head on my wrist. And who doesn’t like a Swatch?

What are some of your everyday jewelry pieces?

25 Comments

  • Reply
    Michelle
    February 22, 2016 at 9:28 am

    Great post and so close to my heart! After my berries came along, all my RHR went into cold storage. The rings gets into the way in whatever I am doing with them – holding their hands, carrying them, rummaging for their stuff …. It’s bad all around!

    My everyday pieces are my engagement ring + wedding band and love bracelets. Earrings and pendant necklaces are fine, no issues with tugging but now, they admire them with their little grubby fingers 🙂 I don’t switch up my earrings but I do vary my pendant necklaces, usually VCA or my Cartier trinity diamond heart or Chanel cosmos.

    They did not like my diamond bracelets or Anita Ko spike bracelets as they said it scratches them so those are in cold storage as well. Vintage Alhambra bracelets and even VCA Perlee diamond bracelet are both fine with them.

    I don’t wear watches anymore. Like you said, they are generally bulky plus if I do need to carry them, I support their bottoms with my left wrist.

    • Reply
      Katherine
      February 23, 2016 at 10:30 am

      You have the best jewelry, I always love hearing about it 🙂 What is cold storage for jewelry? I’d heard about it for furs, but not for jewels!

  • Reply
    Sybil
    February 22, 2016 at 9:46 am

    Interesting postl!

    I’ve been drawn to the unisex Timex weekender watches w the nylon slip through straps. I bought a SGH and a GHW and I switch straps. It reminds me of a poor man’s version of a Daniel Wellington! My eyesight has been getting poor lately and I need an everyday watch that I can SEE! As for jewelry, I wear a simple diamond stud earrings, my Cartier Love ring and bracelets which I wear all the time and feel “off” if I don’t have them on.

    • Reply
      Katherine
      February 23, 2016 at 10:31 am

      I like Timex better than DW 🙂 Classic and time tested.

  • Reply
    Belen
    February 22, 2016 at 11:20 am

    Lovely necklace. Perfect length and size IMO. And I love the bracelet too. Which is kind of surprising for me since I am a silver gal, but I really like the gold-green combo.

    Love your jade bracelet as well. Is it a solid cuff? I miss out on wearing closed off cuffs because I have giant hands and tiny wrists. Whatever I can get through my hands ends up down by my elbow :-/
    I love the braided carving.

    I have a small Swatch collection too! They are so fun! It’s become a tradition to do a mandatory stop at the Houston airport every year to pick out one, when I’m on my way to visit my family overseas.

  • Reply
    Whitney Farris
    February 22, 2016 at 4:17 pm

    I have two nice jade bracelets and mine are also vintage. ?

  • Reply
    Iris
    February 22, 2016 at 7:11 pm

    Really loves this article and good to know what tends to get more wear after having a baby.

    • Reply
      Katherine
      February 23, 2016 at 10:32 am

      Thanks Iris – necklaces and earrings (non dangly) are the easiest, I think!

  • Reply
    Oonagh
    February 22, 2016 at 8:10 pm

    I remember wearing a pearl pendant when my younger son was a baby, and him grabbing it and putting it in his mouth, leaving toothmarks! I was upset and my husband said, in years to come you’ll look at those toothmarks and the pendant will be more special to you because they’re there…he was right.

    • Reply
      Katherine
      February 23, 2016 at 10:33 am

      That’s a lovely way to think about it, I did the same with one of my mom’s necklaces growing up and I hope she feels that way too, lol.

    • Reply
      Patricia
      February 23, 2016 at 11:17 am

      That’s so sweet!

  • Reply
    Linda
    February 23, 2016 at 10:25 am

    Wow, I love this!

    http://www.llindatt.com

  • Reply
    Anna
    February 23, 2016 at 2:05 pm

    Lovely post as always, Katherine! I appreciate the whimsy in your watch; I’ve owned a few much like the one above as a kid and I got so many nostalgia feels from that photo.

    I currently wear a Longines Flagship watch and I love it. My fiance bought it for me as a “starter” watch, but I don’t think I’ll ever trade it in; watches are his thing anyway, so I can always bum one off ;). The Longines is very elegant and practical, and since I’m in medicine I also appreciate its subtlety. You might want to look into it as a possible addition!

    I recently picked up a beautiful Me&Ro pendant that I wear daily (it says Bone and Spirit in ancient Chinese, which is a message very near and dear to my heart considering what I do/who I am). If by some chance you haven’t heard of this brand I highly recommend that you check it out (especially the symbolism section of the store).

    Oh, and I also wear Tiffany diamond earrings from the Elsa Peretti collection and love them to pieces.

    • Reply
      Katherine
      February 23, 2016 at 8:08 pm

      I looked up your watch – its gorgeous and you can wear it forever!

  • Reply
    Revanche
    February 25, 2016 at 9:00 am

    I’ve been going jewelry free since LB was born but have just started adding back a piece at time. I started wearing earrings, a pair of pearl clusters on gold studs that a dear friend gifted me from her collection as part of my “inheritance” (she doesn’t have kids and considers us family), because LB hasn’t been interested in earrings. My hands have been a bit more cooperative lately, less swelling and pain, so I’ve been able to wear my engagement / wedding ring too -that was cause for minor excitement! Ze used to try and bite the stone off of it on those rare occasions it fit but is now leaving it alone.

    My silver watch will probably come back into rotation in a few months, hopefully ze will stop trying to pull it off by force! Thank goodness for babies growing out of phases 🙂

  • Reply
    ornatejewels
    March 8, 2020 at 10:46 pm

    Thanks so much for the post! Love these choices

  • Reply
    Jenn
    November 1, 2020 at 6:24 pm

    Would you mind sharing the Etsy seller of your jade bracelet please? It’s lovely and I would love to find one like it for my husband to give me for our 25-year anniversary.

  • Reply
    Straphael
    November 9, 2020 at 3:00 pm

    Thank you. I did find a bracelet similar looking to yours from another Etsy seller. It took a week of really researching and looking. The seller also had it listed (for much less) on eBay so that’s how I got it. Very happy with such a unique piece.

    • Reply
      Kat
      November 9, 2020 at 10:49 pm

      Yay!! Enjoy!

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